Renfrewshire’s annual Spotless September has been hailed a success once again after assemblies and school visits to more than 3,500 pupils took place aiming to inspire them to take care of their local environment.
Teams visited Castlehead, Gleniffer, Johnstone and Renfrew secondary schools, as well as St David’s, St Mary’s, West, Riverbrae, Fordbank, St Fergus, Lochfield, Todholm ELCC, St Anthony’s, St Peters, and Newmains primary schools, to discuss how litter impacts communities, local wildlife and contributes to climate change.
Schools across Renfrewshire also took part in litter picks to see the impact on the environment, with secondaries, primaries and nurseries being part of the educational campaign.
In addition, a total of 1,226 local volunteers took part in 338 clean ups throughout the month of action and 2,112 bags of litter were removed from the local environment.
A mainstay of the award-winning Team Up to Clean Up campaign, the event brings the community and council together to make a difference to local neighbourhoods and aims to change attitudes to littering in Renfrewshire.
Councillor Stephen Burns, Depute Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “Team Up to Clean Up is an excellent example of how we can work together with the local community and our schools to make a real, noticeable difference to where they live.
“It’s incredibly important that we work with the next generation to ensure they grow up with the mindset that littering is not an option and that we need to protect our environment, and it’s great to hear how much they care about wildlife and tackling climate change.
“For our communities, we’re providing equipment, support and collecting the bags of litter after each clean up to ensure that it remains a joint approach, and the enthusiasm of local people is so heartening to see.
“There is a real community feel on our dedicated Facebook group with more than 4,000 people coming together to make a difference to Renfrewshire, so if you’re feeling inspired then please join our Team Up to Clean Up family and see what you can do in your neighbourhood.”
The Team Up to Clean Up campaign runs all-year-round and is a joint initiative between the council and the community which sees an increased litter picking, road sweeping and drain clearing programme operated by the council, while the community are supported to take part in litter picks all-year round with equipment and the collection of rubbish.
The Council will provide litter pickers, hoops, bibs and bags for anyone or any group wishing to take part in a litter pick, and its StreetScene team will remove the bags of litter afterwards from an agreed collection point.
The campaign has also expanded to include community caddies, which allow volunteers to trim and tidy local green spaces, as well as the creation of a children’s book ‘The Clumps’ Big Mess’ which every primary school child in Renfrewshire received to inspire them to be a part of the campaign.
For more information on the campaign and to take part, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/